Love in the strangest of places
by Faberrittanainthetardis
Summary: Twist on the season finale. What if Belle hadn't been told to find Rumple? What if she'd been instructed to find Emma? What if Belle was Emma's true love? Swan Beauty/Red Snow ships.


Emma is Belle's true love basically and they end up breaking the curse which can't be broken with a platonic kiss. For more details check my tumblr under the tag 'Red Beauty'.

"_Hello?" Belle called tentatively as she stepped into the shop. "Is anybody here?" she glanced around and spotted a curtain which obviously lead to the back room. She cautiously walked over to it and stepped inside the back room. She found a blonde woman standing in the room, her back facing the door. Not wanting to startle her, Belle took a couple of steps forward. "Excuse me?"_

_Emma turned around at the sound of the voice. She was surprised to find someone she didn't recognize standing behind her. She had been under the impression that she knew of everyone in Storybrooke. It was a small town after all. She took in the girl's tattered appearance with a furrowed brow. "Can I help you?"_

"_I-I was sent to look for Emma Swan." Belle said nervously. _

"_Well you found me." Emma assured, taking a step closer. Though she didn't recognize the girl, something about her felt strangely familiar. The brunette had a soft twang to her voice which Emma assumed was either British or Australian though the extent of the accent had obviously faded over a period of time. _

"_I was told to find you. To tell you that Regina locked me up." Belle continued softly. "Does…does that mean anything to you?"_

"_I…um…" Emma frowned, struggling to keep up with the conversation. Whether it was because Henry was still in hospital or she had yet the find the potion, she had no idea. "I'm sorry, what's your name?"_

"_Belle." Belle answered softly. "My name is Belle."_

_Again, Emma was struck by the feeling that she should know the girl. _

"_I was told you could protect me." Belle said, somewhat bashfully. _

_Emma nodded slowly, her eyes scanning the girls face as she tried to force herself to remember her. "I will."_

Belle watched curiously as Emma rifled frantically through drawers. The blonde had turned away from her not long ago, apparently to resume her searching. Belle awkwardly cleared her throat before speaking up again. "Are you looking for something?"

"Yep." Emma answered simply as she yanked another drawer from the cabinet she was in the process of tearing apart. A quick rifle through told her there was nothing but papers there and her hope ebbed as she moved to the last drawer.

"Can I help?" Belle asked hopefully.

"No thanks."

"Right." Belle bit her bottom lip, slightly put off by the rejection. "Well what exactly are you looking for?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Emma muttered, just loud enough for Belle to hear as she rifled through old contracts, hoping against hope that the potion was tucked in the corner of the drawer.

"Maybe you should tr…" Belle started to respond but she was cut off by an annoyed yell from the Sheriff.

"FUCK!" Emma angrily lashed out when it became apparent that there was nothing in the drawer. She caught several items with her hand, sending them crashing to the ground. The force unhinged the lid of a small chest and to Emma's surprise a familiar egg shaped container rolled out of it. Elation rising in her chest, Emma hurried to kneel next to it and picked it up. She was surprised to find that Gold had left the key in the lock. She'd thought she would have to break it open. She quickly turned the key in the small lock and opened the egg just as suspicion began to set in. It was empty. Emma felt her stomach drop and her heart clench in her chest at the implications of the potion going missing. It had been her last chance to save Henry and now even that was gone. Allowing the egg shaped container to drop from her hands, she sank back to sit on her calves and dissolved into defeated tears. Embarrassed by the display of emotion she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.

"Emma…" Belle murmured, stepping over to the distraught women. Her hand hovered unsurely near the blonde's head for a moment, the urge to offer a touch of comfort almost overwhelming her. Finally, Belle knelt next to Emma and placed a tentative hand on her arm. She was surprised when Emma shifted one hand from her face to tightly grip the hand on her arm.

Emma turned her gaze to Belle's concerned eyes and for a reason unbeknownst to herself she felt compelled to tell her what was wrong despite the fact that the brunette hadn't asked. "My son is sick. What I was looking for…it could help."

"Something from a pawn shop could help?" Belle asked, slightly confused.

Emma managed a teary smile at the question. "The owner stole it from me."

"I see." Belle murmured, thoughtfully biting her lip.

Emma sniffled and glanced at her upper arm where her hand was still tightly gripping Belle's. Her brow furrowed at the sight. She wasn't the type of person who relished physical contact, especially of the comforting variety but something about the touch felt right, even soothing. "Belle," Emma whispered again in an attempt to jog her memory.

"Yes?"

Emma flushed slightly and looked up to meet Belle's steady gaze. "Sorry, I was just…Do I know you from somewhere? _Should_ I know you?"

"I don't think so." Belle said, looking suddenly unsure. She tilted her head to the side and examined Emma closely. The blonde _did_ seem very familiar to her, almost as if Belle _should_ know her. "I think I would remember you."

"You feel familiar." It took Emma a couple of seconds to realise exactly how unusual what she'd said sounded. "God, that sounds really weird." Realising that she was still gripping Belle's hand, Emma quickly let go. "Sorry."

"It's okay." Belle assured her with a small smile.

"You're not from around here though, are you?" Emma asked observantly. "I know almost everyone in this town."

"Oh, I am." Belle answered. "You probably don't recognise me because I've been…in a cell for quite a while."

"Oh." Emma mentally kicked herself for allowing that piece of information slip her mind. "I'm sorry, I forgot about that."

"It's okay." Belle repeated, though she seemed to have drawn into herself slightly in response to the reminder of her previous confinement.

Emma noticed the changed and tentatively reached out to place her hand on Belle's shoulder. "Look Belle, I meant what I said before. Even if we don't know each other, I _will_ protect you. I promise."

"Thank you." Belle said softly. "It's been a while since anyone…" she paused midsentence. "It's just been a while."

Emma stared at the girl in sadness. She'd clearly been through a lot if her ragged appearance was anything to go by. Without thinking of her actions, she reached up to brush a stray strand of hair from Belle's cheek. In response to the gesture, Belle's eyes met hers and Emma quickly pulled her hand away. She really had no idea why she was being so tactile towards the mysterious girl _or _why she felt so strangely drawn to her.

"I was just…You know…Um…" Emma stumbled over her words, struggling to come up with an excuse for her odd urge to touch the brunette. "Are you…hurt in any way?"

"I'm physically fine."

"And mentally?" Emma asked, willing the girl not to be some kind of nutcase. The town already had enough of those. Plus it would be discouraging to think that the first person she'd had some kind of instantaneous emotional connection to in quite a while was less than sane.

"I'm not crazy."

"I know. I'm sorry…I didn't mean it like that." Emma said, mentally cursing herself for her lack of tact.

"It's okay. I didn't mean to snap at you." Belle said apologetically.

Emma raised an eyebrow at that, baffled by Belle's idea of 'snapping'. She stared at her for a moment before shaking her head. There was definitely something familiar about the girl, though she couldn't put her finger on what it was. "Belle."

"Yes?"

"Sorry." Emma apologised for what felt like the hundredth time since she'd run into Belle. She looked up into Belle's eyes and found herself slightly distracted by the pools of ocean blue. "I-I was trying to place where I know you from."

Belle smiled at that. "You seem very familiar to me too."

"I do?" Emma asked, relieved that she wasn't imagining it.

"I do." Belle confirmed softly, allowing her gaze to drift over Emma's face as if she was trying to answer the question as to why she seemed so familiar. A light tear trail on Emma's cheek caught her attention and she automatically lifted her hand to gently wipe the mark away with her thumb.

Emma's eyes fluttered momentarily shut at the light caress. When she reopened them she was surprised to find Belle was much closer than before but she didn't jerk back like she would have if it was anyone else. She had no idea why but she felt very at ease with the mysterious girl. Belle leaned forward slightly and Emma felt her breath catch when she realised what was coming.

"Belle…" she whispered even as she too leaned forward to meet Belle halfway.

Belle didn't respond to the whispered statement and instead pressed her lips tentatively against Emma's. The kiss was soft and tender, barely even a kiss at all and it was over before either of them had the chance to really revel in the caress but there was no doubting the flood of energy and emotion that washed over them. Belle pulled away from the kiss with a gasp at the electrifying sensation.

"Emma…" Belle whispered the name with equal amounts of awe and horror as her memories came rushing back to her. She was just considering scrambling away when Emma's hand moved to the back of her head and she found herself being tugged back into a passionate kiss. Her hands gripping at the lapels of Emma's jacket, Belle allowed herself to return the kiss for only a couple of moments before she forced herself to gently push Emma away.

"Emma, wait. This isn't right. We can't…"

"Doesn't matter." Emma muttered, leaning forward to recapture Belle's lips with her own.

TBC (Probably)


End file.
